PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday ruled out the possibility of a "third or fourth front", but said several members of erstwhile Janata Dal (JD) were in talks for being "federated" as a political alliance for the upcoming parliamentary election.

Kumar said the Left Front has initiated steps in this regard, and Bihar's ruling JD (U) has already supported this venture. This could be termed as "mutual understanding" among erstwhile JD members, he said.

While leaders of Samajwadi Party, JD (U) and Janata Dal (S) are engaged in forming a larger Janata Dal umbrella, the non-Congress and non-BJP parties are meeting in New Delhi on February 5 to discuss the "attack on federal structure" by the Centre and the issue of communalism, said JD (U) spokesman K C Tyagi.

Tyagi told TOI from Delhi over phone Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav and CPM leader Sitaram Yechuri had a meeting this week with him. It was decided to invite leaders of JD (S), SP, AIADMK, AGP, BJD and JVM on February 5. These parties have over 100 members in the Lok Sabha, he said and added it would be a " Third Force" not front and that the TMC could not be involved because of its opposition to Left parties.

Tyagi said the proposed Janata umbrella would help the parties concerned in the election without disturbing their identity. They would contest the election on their symbols. The SP will help JD (U) in Bihar and JD (U) would reciprocate in UP while the two parties would help JD (S) in Karnataka, Tyagi said and added JD (U) president Sharad Yadav had been informed about the initiative.

Former PM and JD (S) leader H D Deve Gowda had preliminary talks with JD (U) leaders, Tyagi said and hoped the Janata unity would take a concrete shape within a week and serve the purpose of cementing secular politics in the country.

Meanwhile, Sharad Yadav, who reached here on Friday to participate in the party's Sankalp rally at Gopalganj on Saturday, described the Congress threat to withdraw support to the Nitish Kumar government as "absurd and nonsense".

With the national elections just three months away, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav once again made a strong pitch for a 'third front' today.

Two days after he shared the stage with Congress president Sonia Gandhi at a ceremony in Bihar following a war of words, Mr Kumar announced that several parties will meet in Delhi on February 5 to discuss the 'third front.' According to sources, representatives from around 14 parties from all over the country will participate in the meeting.

"We are in talks. The Left took the initiative and we are supporting them. Both the Congress and the BJP will be our enemies," Mr Kumar said today in Patna.

In Lucknow, Mulayam Singh, who provides crucial outside support to the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, also hinted at a liking for the 'third front'.

"We have already won Uttar Pradesh. Now it's time for Delhi. The Samajwadi Party will play a big role in forming the government at the Centre. Once we ruled Delhi, but the government didn't last time. We have to ensure this time the government works," Mr Yadav told his party workers as he kicked off a cycle yatra in Uttar Pradesh.

Bihar chief Minister Nitish Kumar has taken the initiative to launch a â€œfederal frontâ€ of 14 regional parties to fight the Congress and the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections and has begun talks with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and JD(S) head and former PM H D Deve Gowda.

A meeting of top leaders of these 14 parties has been convened in Delhi on February 5 to discuss â€œa united standâ€ against the Congress-led UPA government, especially against any populist moves it may announce to woo voters during the Parliament session called to pass the vote on account.

This meeting is to be followed by another of Kumar, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, Mulayam and Gowda in Delhi either on February 9 or 10 to discuss the formal shape of the yet to be named front.

â€œFourteen regional parties have already met once on October 28 last year. The Congress, which has hit a low because of the economic mess and corruption charges, is not able to counter Narendra Modi. It is on us to take on both the BJP and the Congress,â€ JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson K C Tyagi told The Indian Express.

The Samajwadi Partyâ€™s national general secretary Ramgopal Yadav said his party is in talks with like-minded secular parties, including JD(U) to stitch a non-Congress and non-BJP alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. â€œI cannot commit on how much time it will take to formalise this alliance. But it is a well known fact that we are in serious dialogue and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is part of it,â€ Ramgopal Yadav told The Indian Express.

â€œIn fact the seeds had germinated when 14 parties, which included Nitish Kumar, Left parties and others met at Talkatora stadium in New Delhi in October last year. There, we had broadly agreed to form a non-Congress, non-BJP front,â€ he said, adding that the key players were talking to each other since.

â€œIt will take shape but I still cannot comment on a final date. At times Nitishji also talks directly with Netaji (Mulayam),â€ he said.
Ramgopal also reminded that the SP had formed a front called Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha, which included the CPI, CPM, JD(U) and JD(S), and contested Assembly polls in Rajasthan last year.

â€œLeft parties have taken the initiative to cobble together a block of parties. I am not sure of calling it a third or fourth front but we support the idea of such a block of parties coming up,â€ Kumar told reporters on the sidelines of a function. He said several parties which were part of the original Janata Dal have been talking to each other. â€œWe are talking of federating, not merger. One may call it an understanding between parties in pre-poll situation to oppose the Congress and BJP,â€ Kumar said.

The JD(U)â€™s Tyagi said the scheduled meeting of the 14 parties before the Parliament session had been called to take an â€œideological standâ€ against the Congress as well. â€œWe apprehend that the Congress will announce some populist measures in the name of seeing through the vote on account. Although we may not oppose the vote on account, we are likely to thwart any

Aiming to replicate the Samajwadi Partyâ€™s â€œbicycle drivenâ€ success in the 2012 Assembly elections, its president Mulayam Singh flagged off a â€œyatraâ€ here on Saturday, reminding the participants that the objective was to capture power at the Centre.

â€œLucknow par qabza ho chuka hae, ab asli baat Dilli ki hai, Dilli par qabza aapki bhumika taye karegi, (Lucknow has been annexed, now capturing power at the Centre will largely depend on the role of the party workers),â€ Mr. Singh said.

Referring to the United Front government at the Centre in which he was Minister, Mr. Singh said it could not complete its term as â€œsome leaders of political parties failed to work together.â€ Now, if the workers ensured that the SP emerged as an important player, a â€œmazboot sarkarâ€ (stable government) would come into being.

By way of caution to the cycle yatris who included girls, he said: â€œDonâ€™t react to criticism and remain cautious against the conspiracy of opponents.â€ Slogans which made the â€œjanataâ€ happy should be raised during the rally.

In an oblique reference to the Bharatiya Janata Partyâ€™s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Mr. Singh said the money spent on welfare schemes equivalent to the entire budget of Gujarat had already been spent for the people in Uttar Pradesh in two years of the SP government.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who joined his father in flagging off the rally from the party headquarters, said people should be made aware of the governmentâ€™s achievements. For, great work had been done by the SP regime but it lagged behind in highlighting it.

The cycle yatras will be taken out in all Assembly constituencies till February 7. Ministers and party functionaries have been asked to ride cycles and establish contact with the people. Cycle is the partyâ€™s election symbol.

Yadav said that while JD(U), Samajwadi Party and JD(S) have already joined hands, talks are on with other parties.

He also cited the initiative taken by Left parties leading to a convention against communalism attended by 17 parties including AIADMK, BJD and AGP, parties which the BJP has been eyeing as possible allies.

"Yes there are some intrinsic?contradictions in states. Left and Mamata (Banerjee) cannot go together in West Bengal, SP and BSP in Uttar Pradesh or DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. But the experience of last 65 years shows that while there is internal contradiction, there is also a broad agreement on crucial issues.

"The same parties had come together when we organised Bharat Bandh on issues like?price hike thrice. We are trying to find a way and to begin with JD (U), Samajwadi Party and? Janta Dal Secular have come together. More parties will join. We are trying and confident that it will happen," Yadav said.

"AIADMK and CPI have decided to enter into an alliance to face the Lok Sabha elections," Jayalalithaa said in a media interaction at her Poes Garden residence in Chennai on Sunday after meeting CPI's A B Bardhan, its general secretary Sudhakar Reddy and state secretary D Pandian.

CPI has sought two seats in Tamil Nadu as part of the pre-poll tie-up. "We contested in two parliamentary seats in 2009 as part of the AIADMK alliance. We have requested Jayalalithaa to allot the same North Chennai and Tenkasi constituencies," a party source told TOI.

Of the two, CPI had won the Tenkasi seat last time. The TN chief minister is also likely to meet CPM leaders on Monday to seal a pact.

The alliance is likely to accelerate efforts to give shape to a third front that would involve AIADMK and the two Left parties, besides JD(U), BJD, JD(S) and SP. An AIADMK representative may attend a meeting in Delhi on February 5 called by the non-Congress, non-BJP parties.

Bardhan said he endorsed whatever Jayalalithaa said and expressed hope that their alliance, which he described as a "secular and democratic alternative", would lead to a victory.

To a query on the clamour among AIADMK men to project Jayalalithaa as their prime ministerial candidate, Bardhan said, "If we succeed in the election, the prospects will open up." Jayalalithaa intervened to say, "All that will come later. Our aim is to win all the 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry." On the issues that her alliance would seek to highlight during the polls, she said, "Our slogan is Peace, Prosperity and Progress."

During talks with Jayalalithaa, Bardhan expressed hope that the third front would play "a bigger role" in the elections, said another source. Bardhan conveyed to the AIADMK leader his optimism that BJP would not get a simple majority and that AAP was likely to spoil the prospects of the saffron party.

The Left parties in Tamil Nadu have remained with AIADMK since the 2011 assembly polls, while two other allies, MMK and Puthiya Tamizhagam, parted company to join the DMK-led front.

The alliance with the Left is likely to help AIADMK in its strongholds in about seven to eight constituencies and smaller pockets across Tamil Nadu. CPI and CPM have strongholds of support in Nagapattinam, North Chennai, Tirupur, Coimbatore and Kanyakumari. Their strength lies in the votebank formed by the working class and farmers. The alliance with the left could also help the party in the state's Cauvery delta districts.

AIADMK had backed one nominee each of the Left parties in the Rajya Sabha elections in the run-up to ta;ls for the Lok Sabha polls. Keen to play a leading role in a non-Congress, non-BJP front, AIADMK had also sent its parliamentary party leader M Thambidurai to participate in the Left-sponsored meeting on communalism in New Delhi on October 30.

The JD(S) is planning to organise a public rally at Nelamangala near Bangalore, to announce the launch of an alternative front (also called Third Front) to the UPA and the NDA.

A meeting of the leaders of regional parties including the SP, JD(U), JD(S) and Left parties is scheduled to be held on February 5 in New Delhi, where the leaders are likely to discuss the formation of the Third Front. Besides, the decision on the first rally of the front will also be taken in the meeting, sources said.

JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda, who has taken the initiative to form the Third Front, wants to organise the first rally in Karnataka. The JD(S) had organised the first rally of regional party leaders at Nelamangala ahead of the 2009 LS elections. Gowda said the leaders would like to organise the first rally at either Lucknow or Patna, where the SP and the JD(U) are in power respectively. If they agree, the JD(S) will host it in Karnataka, he said.

Jammu: National Conference Chief and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday claimed that third front will emerge only after the Lok Sabha elections.

"Third front has been in the news for a long time. There have been talks about it. I think third front will only emerge after the elections are over," Farooq told reporters here in reply to a question on the emergence of third front in the country.

"Once the election is over and seat numbers are there, then only one will come to a conclusion, whether that is possible and who will lead the third front," he added.

"As far as meeting with Karnanidhi is concerned, I met him because of my relationship with that fellow. He has been great friend of my father. My only concern was about his health. No hidden agenda was there," Abdullah said.

Replying to another question about Congress President Sonia Gandhi's jibe on Narendra Modi that "he is doing 'zahar ki kheti' (sowing poison barb)," he said, "I cannot comment on that because the President of the Party has made a statement like this. She does feel, as her husband felt that communal elements will destroy India."

"That is what Rajiv Gandhi always fought against. Nothing else. She is against carrying the same thing that no communal man should become leader of this Nation," he said.

"She is right. As an Indian, I would never want India to become communal," Farooq said, adding "It is a secular Nation. All of us Hindu, Muslims, Sikhs, whoever they are, they are part of the nation. Therefore, you need a leader who will hold all of us dear to him and take this country forward to a better period."

In reply to a question about AAP's allegation that the BJP leadership is conspiring to ensure the fall of the government, Farooq said "Unless and until people want, Delhi government of AAP should run or continue -- which has been liked by the people."

Some days back Farooq Abdullah was talking about UPA is emerging stronger and now talking about third front :shocked:

New Delhi: Leaders of non-Congress and non-BJP parties met here on Wednesday to discuss the formation of a 'federal front' ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due by May this year.

The leaders held talks on the intricacies of such an alliance, which they are choosing not to call a 'third front'.

â€œWe have 11 (non-Congress, non-BJP) parties which have come together on common issues,â€ CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said after the talks.

Talks have already been held among Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and JD(S) head HD Deve Gowda.

Among the parties that were expected to attend today's grand meet include the AIADMK, AGP, BJD, JVM, CPI and CPM.

Part of the agenda at today's meet was also to join hands to scuttle any populist move which the ruling UPA government could be planing to announce during the Parliament session beginning today.

Today's talks will be followed up with another meeting here, either on February 9 or 10. At that meeting, Kumar, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, Deve Gowda and other leaders are expected to prepare the blueprint for the front.

"We are keen on trying for a new front on the basis of understanding and cooperation to take on the Congress and the BJP in elections," Nitish had said, while ruling out a return to the NDA.

"There is no question of us (JD-U) returning to the NDA."

JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson KC Tyagi had told a leading English daily that the 14 regional parties have already held talks once on October 28 last year.

Today's meeting came days after Jayalalithaa's AIADMK forged pre-poll alliances with the CPM and the CPI.

LUCKNOW: In a major embarrassment to the Samajwadi Party, scores of residents in Mainpuri, the parliamentary constituency of Mulayam Singh Yadav, took party leader Tota Ram Yadav hostage on Tuesday afternoon demanding a road link and electricity connection in the district's Prem Nagar and adjoining hamlets.

Tota Ram has the status of a minister of state by virtue of being the chairman of Pradeshik And Cooperative Federation. The two-hour protest was called off following Mulayam's emissary and grandson Prem Pratap Yadav's intervention. The SP chief also spoke to the villagers on phone and assured them of time-bound solution to their problems.

The people dispersed but threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha elections if their demands weren't met. Besides Mainpuri being a bastion of Yadav clan for decades, all four MLAs of the district are from the SP. Reports said hectic preparations were underway in Mainpuri for SP's Cycle Yatra slated on Tuesday. A district level leader, was on his way to attend the event in Karhal assembly constituency when he was intercepted by hundreds of locals from Prem Nagar and adjoining villages of Nagle Salehi, Bansi and Kusurwa.

The crowd was agitated over no response from the state government to their demand for a road link and electricity.

"Every time there are elections, parties make promises but no one cares once the elections are over," Shyam Pal Yadav, a resident of Prem Nagar told TOI on phone.

All out efforts of Tota Ram and his aides to talk their way out of the crises proved futile. The crowd started getting restless every passing minute adding to nervousness of a handful of cops from Aunchcha police station that had arrived at the spot.

Reports said when Mulayam learnt about the incident he immediately asked party MLA Shobharan Singh and block pramukh Prem Pratap Yadav to rush to the spot. Prem, who is Mulayam's grandson, enjoys considerable clout in the area but even his intervention failed to end the crisis. The protesters refused to call off their agitation till they were given a deadline before which their demands would be met.

Prem Pratap managed to put a local resident Shyam Pal Yadav on phone to talk to Mulayam. Reports said Mulayam assured the locals that their demands would be met within a stipulated timeframe.

Mulayam is MP from Mainpuri since 2009. At the assembly constituency level, too, Manipuri is the undisputed bastion of SP. In 1993, party won 4 out of five assembly seats, while the BJP got only one. In 1996, it was a clean sweep by SP on all five seats. In 2002, SP suffered a major setback with two of the five seats going to the BJP and one to BSP, leaving the party with just two seats.

In 2007, SP improved a little by reclaiming 3 seats. In 2012, it was again a clean sweep by SP.

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday downplayed the contention that attempts by regional parties and the Left to cobble together a Third Front will seal the prospects of a Congress-led secular alliance saying "possibilities change in politics with the passage of time".

Party spokesperson Randip Surjewala said, "Politics is an expression of possibilities and the possibilities change with the passage of time. Let us wait for a while."

His remarks came on a day when 11 non-Congress and non-BJP parties formally joined hands as a block in Parliament to pitch for pro-people, anti-communal and federal agenda.

The announcement of the front was made at a joint press conference of leaders of these parties including the four Left parties, Samajwadi Party, JD(U), AIADMK, AGP, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, JD(S) and BJD.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury and JD(U) President Sharad Yadav said this was the "first step" after the parties came together in October last for an anti-communal convention here.

There is a thinking in the Congress that the coming together of secular parties will ultimately halt the march of BJP.

Even when 17 parties had come together to attend the convention against communalism, Congress had downplayed the issue of ally NCP taking part in it hoping that their coming together would help counter Narendra Modi and sharpen the political discourse on the secular-communal divide.

There is a view in the party that, with so many parties flagging the same concern against communalism, people will realise Congress is not the only party attacking Modi and that Congress' concern about Modi is not without any substance.

DUMKA: Former CM and JVM (P) president Babulal Marandi is all for the formation of the Third Front so that a non-Congress, non-BJP government comes to power.

"Different regional party leaders have strongholds in their respective states. They should come forward to form an alliance. There must be a post poll alliance of like minded parties instead of a pre poll one to help each other secure maximum number of candidates from their strongholds," Marandi told journalists at the local circuit house in Dumka on Thursday.

But Marandi also stuck to his decision to field candidates in all 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

"It is evident for the past two and half decades that none of the national parties could form the government at the Centre on its own. Their presence has also been confined to few states unlike in the mid 60s," Marandi said, adding that this reflected the mood of the electorate both at the national and state levels.

He, however, denied that he intends to contest the Lok Sabha elections. Lambasting the JMM, RJD and Ajsu Party, Marandi said they were puppets in the hands of the Congress and the BJP and danced to their tunes for enjoying power. They ignored the interest of the people in the state.

He also accused the BJP and the Congress of ignoring the local people and not supporting outside candidates in the Rajya Sabha election. "Not a single leader from these parties came forward to oppose the decision of outsider candidates for the Rajya Sabha," he said.